- Judge orders Trump administration to bring employees back to work
- Adviser Kari Lake Accuses US Agency for Global Media of Being ‘Irreparably Broken’ and Biased Against Trump
NEW YORK: A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to stop trying to shut down Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Network, whose news broadcasts are funded by the government to export U.S. values to the world.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who is overseeing six lawsuits from employees and contractors affected by the U.S. Agency for Global Media shutdown, ordered the administration to “take all necessary steps” to reinstate the employees and contractors and resume radio, television and online news broadcasts.
USAGM furloughed more than 1,000 employees and told 600 contractors they would be laid off after the agency abruptly went off the air in March.
Andrew Selley, a lawyer representing VOA employees in the lawsuits, said the ruling was “a significant victory for press freedom.”
USAGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Voice of America radio station was founded to combat Nazi propaganda during the height of World War II and became the largest international media broadcaster.
Congress funded and authorized the broadcasts to provide an “accurate, objective, and comprehensive” source of news in other countries and to export “the core American values of free speech, free press, and open debate,” Lamberth wrote. Congress made the broadcasts mandatory and did not allow the executive branch to unilaterally end or defund them, he ruled.
Trump adviser Kari Lake announced the closure on March 15, putting nearly all USAGM employees on leave, saying the agency was “irreparably broken” and biased against US President Donald Trump.
Lambert rejected USAGM’s arguments in court that the agency had not made a “final decision” on the future of broadcasting and that the lawsuits should be heard as part of a series of “labor disputes” with fired workers.
“It’s hard to believe that USAGM ‘still exists’ when its 80-year-old flagship news service VOA has completely ceased to exist and shows no signs of returning,” Lambert wrote.
Lamberth heard arguments Thursday from lawyers for VOA employees and the Trump administration. He asked several questions probing Trump’s claims that VOA’s news coverage was too critical of America and of him personally.
“I thought one of the strengths of VOA was that it had the courage to tell the truth about America,” Lambert said.
Lamberth also pointed out that Trump signed a stopgap government funding measure last month that provided funds for USAGM. Trump did not veto the spending bill or ask Congress to rescind that funding, Lamberth said.
According to USAGM’s most recent report to Congress, the group included about 3,500 employers in 2024 and had a budget of $886 million.